Fred’s reveals impact of Thanksgiving closure

Many retailers opened on Thanksgiving this year but regional discounter Fred’s remained closed and the impact of that decision was evident when the company reported a 2.3% decline in November same store sales.



Fred’s stores were open on Thanksgiving Day last year, but the operator of 702 stores closed its stores this year which made for a challenging comparison against the prior year period.



"Comparable store sales for November tracked with the guidance we provided during our third quarter conference call last week. Excluding the impact of our decision to close our stores on Thanksgiving Day, comparable stores sales for the month were approximately flat,” said Fred’s CEO Jerry Shore. “The pharmacy department once again had solid performance with comparable store sales and script growth.”



In addition to the impact of Thanksgiving, Shore reaffirmed the company’s holiday outlook which had just been shared Nov. 25 when third quarter results were reported.



"We begin December with our stores in great shape for the holidays, backed by a solid merchandising and operational plan to drive a successful fourth quarter," Shore said. “Momentum is building around the plan we outlined last week for process improvements and coordination of efforts, steps that will help us execute our strategic and operating plans and drive strong returns in 2015."